Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Bars are bursting with luscious lemon curd and juicy blueberries. This recipe will be the star of all of your summer parties. A word of warning: You will want to eat each and every melt-in-your-mouth-AND-in-your-hands bar all by yourself!
Sooo… Butter is my favorite ingredient. Or food? Does it count as an entire food all by itself? If you’ve eaten it all alone with a spoon before (not that I have done this!), does it count as a food? (No really, I swear I haven’t done this. Have I been tempted? Yes.) I’m only asking if it counts as a food because, if so, butter and chocolate chip cookies are in a tight race.
In fact, Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Bars and Jacque Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies are in a tight race. I have proclaimed my infallible love for JT’s cookies for years now, but serve them to me on a silver platter next to Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Bars and I won’t know which to choose first. More challenging is that I won’t know which to choose last! Which flavor do I want to linger?
Which makes me think that my next big dessert experiment should be something like Chocolate Chip Cookie Shortbread Bars. And that shouldn’t be too hard because this recipe is kitchen experimentation-friendly. (Yes, that’s a thing or at least it is now.)
Here’s what I mean: I took the shortbread crust from my recipe for Caramel Apple Butter Bars (↓ look familiar?) and I switched out the filling.
Obviously, the original recipe has a caramel apple filling. To make Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Bars, I made a lemon curd (LOVE! Can we be British for a month or so and have tea and eat English scones and spread them with lemon curd #allthetime?), folded in blueberries, and put that right between the shortbread crust and the shortbread crumble. And PSA: The shortbread crust and the shortbread crumble are the same thing — You just divide the dough and do two different things with it, so it’s not extra work.
The end result is a sturdy twice-baked shortbread crust that is bursting with creamy, luscious lemon curd and juicy blueberries and finished with a softer, butteryer (it’s a word, yep), melt-in-your-mouth-and-in-your-hands-and-in-your-belly shortbread topping. Quite honestly, you need to have plans for these. If you don’t, you are likely going to eat them all yourself and, I dunno, if you’re like me, maybe that will make you a little proud.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Shortbread Bars Coming Soon.
Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Bars
Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Bars are bursting with luscious lemon curd and juicy blueberries. This recipe will be the star of all of your summer parties. A word of warning: You will want to eat each and every melt-in-your-mouth-AND-in-your-hands bar all by yourself!
Ingredients
For the shortbread crust:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Zest of one lemon
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
For the filling:
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into smaller pieces
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
- 1 1/4 cup blueberries divided
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8″ or 9×9″ baking pan with foil. Leave an overhang on the sides. Set aside.
To make the shortbread crust:
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In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and powered sugar. Add vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and beat until well-combined. Mix in flour to form a soft dough. Press 2/3 of the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan to form a crust. Reserve the other 1/3 portion of dough in the refrigerator. Bake 15-18 minutes while you prepare the filling.
To make the filling:
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In a medium saucepan whisk together egg yolks, whole egg, and sugar until combined. Add lemon juice and salt and whisk until well combined, about 30 seconds. Place over medium-low heat and add butter. Cook, stirring constantly, until the curd thickens, about 6 minutes. Once thickened, stir in Greek yogurt. Fold in 1 cup blueberries, then pour the curd into the warm crust, spreading evenly.
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Sprinkle the bars with remaining 1/4 cup blueberries and crumble the remaining crust evenly on top. Return to the oven and bake another 25-30 minutes or until filling is bubbly. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Best stored in the refrigerator.
